Adventurer of Many Professions

Raymond couldn't help but let a small smile slip onto his face. For all her complaints and delicate airs, Sylph had braved the stench and followed him into the depths of the sewer. That kind of determination was hard to ignore. It would have been unreasonable for him to refuse her any further.

Without a word, he untied the long cloth from around his head, carefully slashing it into two pieces with his dagger. He handed one half to Sylph. "Here," he said, holding it out. "Cover your mouth and nose with this. It'll help with the smell a little."

Sylph took the cloth, but instead of putting it on immediately, she stared at it, turning it over in her hands with a slightly hesitant expression. Her eyes flicked to him, then back to the cloth, as if debating some unspoken thought.

Raymond noticed her reluctance and raised an eyebrow. "Put it on. I know it's not exactly silk from home, but trust me, it's better than breathing in the sewer air directly."

After a moment's pause, Sylph finally raised the cloth and tied it around her face, albeit a bit begrudgingly. Raymond observed her with mild amusement, thinking to himself, 'Still a bit of a noble at heart, isn't she?'

But then a thought struck him, freezing him in place. 'Wait… that cloth was the same one I used to cover my own mouth and nose earlier.' He glanced down at his other half of the cloth, realizing he'd divided it in such a way that his previous breaths would be mingled in her piece. That explained her hesitation.

Pretending not to notice, he threw a casual glance at her. Sylph was now fully covered, her face hidden beneath the makeshift mask, her eyes fixed on the ground. Whatever expression she wore was hidden from view, and he wasn't about to mention the awkwardness.

'Just play dumb and move on,' he thought, pushing down his embarrassment.

Together, they walked further into the depths of the sewer in silence, the only sounds their footsteps echoing off the damp stone walls.

…

Suddenly, Sylph broke the quiet. "Raymond, have you… seen any mutant rats down here before?" Her voice was soft, almost tentative, a sharp contrast to her usual confident tone.

Raymond shook his head. "No, but I've heard they're… bigger than cats."

"Ray-Raymond…" Sylph stammered, her voice laced with a hint of fear. "Look over there… is that one?"

Following the direction of her trembling finger, Raymond squinted into the darkness. His heart skipped a beat. Just ahead, two glowing green eyes stared back at them from the shadows. The creature shifted, revealing a hulking, bloated body covered in matted, filthy fur, its eyes fixed on them with an unsettling intensity.

With the help of the dim glow from his white stone, Raymond took in the full, grotesque sight. The creature was enormous; easily the size of a small child, with thick, yellowed teeth poking out from a snarling mouth. The air filled with a low, growling sound as it eyed them, clearly not about to back down.

"Be careful!" Raymond warned, instinctively stepping in front of Sylph. His body tensed as he dropped into a fighting stance, and Sylph gripped her metal wand tightly, her knuckles white.

The mutant rat's eyes gleamed with a feral hunger, and instead of fleeing, it lunged straight toward them with terrifying speed. Despite its size, it moved with agility, barreling forward like a creature possessed.

In the blink of an eye, the beast was upon them. Its claws were outstretched, teeth bared, and Raymond could see flecks of rotten meat caught between its fangs, the stench of decay flooding his senses. Without thinking, he reacted. Summoning every ounce of his strength, he threw a heavy punch, his fist connecting squarely with the creature's side.

A resounding 'thud' filled the air as his punch landed, sending the mutant rat skidding across the wet stones. It let out a strange, strangled squeal, rolling over and struggling to get back on its feet. Blood seeped from where Raymond's fist had struck, staining its matted fur, and its movements became sluggish, but it still managed to regain its footing.

"Raymond, are you alright?" Sylph's voice was urgent, breaking through his focus.

"I'm fine," he replied, catching his breath. "But keep an eye out. There might be more of them nearby. And be careful, they're aggressive."

He glanced at his gloves, grimacing at the fur and bits of grime now sticking to them. 'Lovely,' he thought wryly, mentally noting he'd need to scrub them thoroughly after this.

The mutant rat snarled, emitting a guttural, hacking sound as it prepared for another attack. Despite its injuries, it charged once more, albeit slower this time, its movements hindered by the wound Raymond had inflicted.

Raymond steeled himself, not giving the creature another chance to strike first. In one swift motion, he stepped forward and delivered a powerful kick, his boot colliding with its side and sending it flying into the sewer wall. The impact was brutal; the rat's body hit the stone with a sickening crunch, and it slumped to the ground, motionless.

Raymond took a step back, watching it cautiously for any sign of life. But the creature lay still, a small pool of blood beginning to spread beneath it.

Sylph exhaled shakily behind him. "That… that was terrifying." She lowered her wand slightly, but her eyes remained wide with shock and a lingering hint of fear. "You just… you just punched it and kicked it away. How did you not hesitate?"

Raymond shrugged, a faint smile touching his lips. "Sometimes, you don't have time to think. You just act." He looked at her, seeing the mixture of admiration and surprise in her expression. "Besides, I told you this wasn't going to be a glamorous job."

Sylph managed a small laugh, though it was tinged with nervousness. "I'm starting to see that now," she admitted. "But… I'm not backing out."

Raymond's smile grew, a genuine warmth in his gaze. "Good. Because it looks like we've got more work ahead of us." He gestured deeper into the sewer, where faint skittering sounds hinted at more of the mutant rats lurking in the shadows.

Sylph nodded, gripping her wand with renewed determination.They walked on, side by side, into the darkness, ready to face whatever the sewers held for them.

The mutant rat lay utterly still this time, not a twitch of life remaining.

"Is it… dead?" Sylph leaned forward, craning her neck to peer at the fallen creature. Seeing no movement, she let out a breath, crossing her arms with an air of dismissal. "Ha! I thought it would be more of a threat. Turns out it was nothing but a weak, oversized rat."

Raymond couldn't hold back a sigh, his expression flat. 'Weak?' He'd just put considerable effort into taking it down, and she was acting like it had been a minor inconvenience.

Shaking his head, he drew his dagger and crouched down, ready to cut off the mutant rat's ears as proof of the kill. But before he began, a hint of caution crept in. He narrowed his eyes at the creature, then gave it a solid kick in the head to make sure it was really dead. The force of the kick sent a splatter of grime and filth flying, causing him to recoil slightly in disgust.

"Yeah… it's definitely dead now."

Satisfied, he knelt beside the beast and quickly sliced off its ears, grimacing as he worked. As he held up the severed ears, he felt Sylph's eyes on him, a look of utter revulsion painted on her face. She shuddered, stepping back.

"I'm not touching those… rat ears," she said, her voice tinged with disgust.

Raymond had intended to hand them to her, but with her clear refusal, he sighed and glanced around for a solution. Eventually, he took his leather coin pouch from his belt, the one he usually kept his gold coins in. Fortunately, he had emptied most of his gold that morning, leaving only a few silver coins behind. He dropped the ears into the pouch, sealing them away from sight.

'Well, rat ears are technically worth money, so I suppose this works.'

He slipped the pouch back onto his belt and scanned the surrounding sewer passages. It seemed quiet now, with no other mutant rats appearing from the shadows.

"Alright, let's move on. Looks like that one was alone for now."

With the pouch securely in place, he resumed walking, Sylph falling in step beside him. As they moved deeper into the damp corridors, he tried brushing the bits of white, rancid flesh from the rat off his gloves, muttering under his breath about the mess.

Breaking the silence, he turned to her. "By the way, Sylph, how many times can you use your Explosion Magic?"

She blinked, a bit startled by the sudden question. "Oh… um… well…" She hesitated, shifting uncomfortably. Finally, with a sheepish smile, she admitted, "Right now, I can only use it once."

"Once?" Raymond nodded, trying not to sound judgmental. 'So much hype for a single shot,' he thought, but kept his face neutral.

Seeing his reaction, Sylph's cheeks flushed slightly. "Hey, it's not because I'm weak or anything! Explosion Magic just takes a huge amount of mana. If it were regular magic, I could probably cast it twice!" She crossed her arms, looking slightly indignant.

Raymond chuckled, intrigued by her pride. "Alright, alright. So… how much mana do you actually have?"

He couldn't help but be curious. His own mana capacity was only a modest 100, and he was interested to know how he compared to others.

Sylph tossed her hair back with a proud smirk. "I'm almost at 300!"

Raymond's eyebrows shot up. "Three… hundred?" He looked at her, genuinely impressed. "How old are you again?"

Her smirk faded into a glare. "I'm fifteen, thank you very much," she replied, sounding a bit offended.

Raymond processed that. 'Same age as me, but somehow she's three times stronger in terms of mana?' He found himself wondering if there was some special training or secret technique he didn't know about that could accelerate mana growth. His mana only increased by 0.2 points a day, around 70 points a year. At that rate, he had a long way to go to reach her level.

Just as he was about to ask her more about her training, a strange, guttural growl echoed through the sewer.

'Click!'

Both of them turned their heads sharply in the direction of the sound. In the dim glow of the white stone, they saw not one, but three pairs of glowing green eyes in a side passage, watching them with predatory intensity.

Raymond's heart skipped a beat. "Looks like we've got company," he whispered, tightening his grip on the dagger.

The three mutant rats slinked forward, their eyes glinting with an eerie, hungry light, their bodies tense and poised to strike.

Sylph took a step back, her hand clenching around her magic wand. "Three of them… at once?" Her voice held a hint of nervous excitement.

Raymond's mind raced. He knew that facing multiple mutant rats would be challenging, especially considering the close quarters of the sewer. "Sylph, can you hold off your Explosion Magic for just the right moment? We'll need it if things get tight."

She nodded, swallowing nervously but setting her jaw with determination. "Got it. I'll save it until we really need it."

As the mutant rats advanced, Raymond took a steadying breath, readying himself for the fight. "Stay close and keep an eye on all of them," he murmured, moving into a defensive stance. The sewer felt colder, the silence more oppressive, as they faced down the glowing eyes in the dark, waiting for the next battle to begin.